Tips and Tricks for AutoCAD

A u t o C A D U S E R I N T E R F A C E

1 This power-point is intended for AR-119 & EG-110 GRCC students to reference from.

U S E R I N T E R F A C E

Ribbon


S T A R T I N G A N E W D R A W I N G

Application Menu: New > Drawing

Command: NEW or QNEW

Quick AccessToolbar: New

Menu Bar: New > Drawing


S A V I N G Y O U R W O R K

Application Menu: SAVEAS, SAVE

Command: QSAVE, SAVEAS, SAVE

Quick AccessToolbar: Save or Save As

Menu Bar: File > Save or Save As


D R A W I N G S L I N E S I N A u t o C A D

Ribbon: Home > Draw > Line

Toolbar: Draw > Line

Menu Bar: Draw > Line

Tool Palettes: Draw > Line

Command: LINE or L

The LINE command from

the Draw toolbar

The Line

tool in the

Draw

panel

Drawing lines using the LINE command


E R A S I N G O B J E C T S

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Erase

Toolbar: Modify > Erase

Menu Bar: Modify > Erase

Command: ERASE or E

Tool Palettes: Modify > Erase

Selecting the object by positioning the pick

box at the top of the object

The Erase tool in

the Modify Panel

6

The Erase tool in the

Modify toolbar

This power-point is intended for AR-119 & EG-110 GRCC students to reference from.

D R A W I N G A C I R C L E

Command: CIRCLE or C

Toolbar: Draw > Circle

Menu Bar: Draw > Circle

Tool Palettes: Draw > Circle

Ribbon: Home > Draw > Circle drop-down >

Center , Radius

Tools in the Circle

drop-down

The options of the CIRCLE command

Center and Radius Center and Diameter

Two-Point Three-Point

Tangent, Tangent, Radius Tangent, Tangent,

Tangent


D R A W I N G A C I R C L E

Drawing a circle by specifying

the center and the radius

Drawing a circle by specifying the

center and the diameter

A circle drawn by using the

2-Point option

A circle drawn by using

the 3-point option

8

Notice how the

cursor attaches

itself to the

outside of the

circle when using

a radius.


S E T T I N G U N I T T Y P E S A N D P R E C I S I O N

Application Menu: Drawing utilities > Units

Command: UNITS

The Drawing Units dialog box


I N T R O D U C T I O N T O P L O T T I N G D R A W I N G S

Ribbon: Output > Plot > Plot

Toolbar: Quick Access > Plot

Application Menu: Print > Plot

Command: PLOT or PRINT

10

(The Plot dialog box)


M O D I F Y I N G A u t o C A D S E T T I N G S U S I N G T H E O P T I O N S D I A L O G B O X

Application Menu: Options

Command: OPTIONS

The Options

dialog box


D R A W I N G E L L I P S E S

Ribbon: Home > Draw >Ellipse drop-down

Toolbar: Draw >Ellipse

Tool Palettes: Draw > Ellipse

Command: ELLIPSE

Tools in the ELLIPSE

drop-down in the

Draw panel

Drawing an Ellipse Using the Axis and Endpoint Option


Drawing Elliptical Arcs

Ribbon: Home > Draw > Ellipse drop-down > Elliptical Arc

Toolbar: Draw > Ellipse Arc

Tool Palettes: Draw > Ellipse Arc

Command: ELLIPSE > Arc

D R A W I N G E L L I P S E S


D R A W I N G A P O L Y G O N B Y S P E C I F Y I N G T H E C E N T E R O F T H E P O L Y G O N

Drawing an inscribed polygon using

the Center of Polygon option

Drawing a circumscribed polygon

using the Center of Polygon option

14

Inscribed Octagon Circumscribed Pentagon


W O R K I N G W I T H L A Y E R S

Ribbon: Layers > Layer Properties

Command: LAYER or LA

Toolbar: Layers > Layer Properties Manager

Layer Properties Manager


Creating New Layers

Partial view of the Layer Properties Manager with the new layer created

W O R K I N G W I T H L A Y E R S


R U N N I N G O B J E C T S N A P M O D E

Toolbar: Object Snap > Osnap Settings

Command: OSNAP

The Drafting Settings dialog box (Object Snap tab)


18

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Fillet/Chamfer drop-down

Toolbar: Modify > Fillet

Command: FILLET

Filleting the parallel and non

parallel lines

Using the FILLET command

on circles and arcs

Fillet/Chamfer drop-down

F I L L E T I N G T H E S K E T C H E S

Before After Before After


19

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Array

Toolbar: Modify > Array

Command: ARRAY

RECTANGULAR ARRAY

A R R A Y I N G T H E S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S


20

A R R A Y I N G T H E S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Array

Toolbar: Modify > Array

Command: ARRAY

ROLAR ARRAY


21

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Mirror

Toolbar: Modify > Mirror

Command: MIRROR

Creating a mirror image of an object

using the MIRROR command

M I R R O R I N G S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S

Mirroring the object at an angle


22

E D I T I N G S K E T C H E S & M O V I N G S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Move

Toolbar: Modify > Move

Command: MOVE

The MOVE command

from the Modify panel

Moving objects to a new location


23

Using the COPY command

C O P Y I N G T H E S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Copy

Toolbar: Modify > Copy

Command: COPY

The COPY command

from the Modify panel

Creating Multiple Copies


24

Command: COPYBASE

The COPYBASE command from the

shortcut menu

C O P Y I N G O B J E C T S U S I N G T H E B A S E P O I N T


25

PASTING CONTENTS FROM THE CLIPBOARD

Ribbon: Clipboard > Paste > Paste as Block

Command: PASTEBLOCK

PASTING CONTENTS USING ORIGINAL

COORDINATES

Ribbon: Clipboard > Paste > Paste to Original Coordinates

Command: PASTEORIG

P A S T I N G C O N T E N T S


26

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Trim

Toolbar: Modify > Trim

Command: TRIM

Using the TRIM command

Tools in the Trim/Extend drop-

down menu

T R I M M I N G T H E S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S


27

Ribbon: Home > Draw > Points drop-down > Measure

Command: MEASURE

The MEASURE tool from the Points drop-down menu

T R I M M I N G T H E S K E T C H E D O B J E C T S

Measuring a line and a circle


28

Grips displayed on various objects

I N T R O D U C T I O N T O G R I P S & T Y P E S O F G R I P S

ADJUSTING GRIP SETTINGS

Application Menu: Options

Command: OPTIONS

The Selection tab of the Options dialog box

Line Circle Arc Block

Polygon Polyline Spline Dimension


29

Ribbon: View > Palettes > DesignCenter

Command: ADCENTER

Menu Bar: Tools > Palettes > DesignCenter

The

DesignCenter

window

M A N A G I N G C O N T E N T S U S I N G T H E D E S I G N C E N T E R


30

Measuring Area of Objects

Ribbon: Home > Utilities >Measure drop-down > Area

Command: AREA

Menu Bar: Tools > Inquiry > Area

Tools in the Measure

drop-down

M A N A G I N G I N Q U I R I E S A B O U T O J B E C T S & D R A W I N G S


31

Ribbon: View > Navigate > Extents

Command: ZOOM

Menu Bar: View > Zoom

Toolbar: Navigation Bar > Zoom Extents

The Zoom fly-out

Invoking the ZOOM option

in the shortcut menu The Zoom tools in the

Navigation Bar

Z O O M I N G D R A W I N G S


32

Ribbon: View > Navigate > Pan

Command: PAN

Menu Bar: View > Pan > Pan Realtime

Navigation Toolbar: Pan

The PAN command options from the View menu

P A N N I N G D R A W I N G S


33

C R E A T I N G S I N G L E L I N E T E X T

Writing Single Line Text

Ribbon: Home > Annotation > Text drop-down > Single Line

Or Annotate > Text drop-down > Multiline text >

Single Line

Command: TEXT or DTEXT

Menu Bar: Draw > Text > Single Line Text

Toolbar: Text > Single Line Text

Choosing the Single Text

command from the Home tab


34

Ribbon: Home > Annotate > Text drop-down > Multiline Text

Tool Palette: Draw > Mtext Or Annotate > Text > Multiline Text

Command: MTEXT

Menu Bar: Draw > Text > Multiline Text

Toolbar: Draw, Text > Multiline Text

Choosing the Multiline Text

command from the Home tab

C R E A T I N G M U L T I L I N E T E X T

Writing Multiline Line Text


35

The Text Editor tab and the text window

T E X T E D I T I N G

The Font drop-down list


36

Editing Text Using the DDEDIT Command

Menu Bar: Modify > Object > Text > Edit

Toolbar: Text > Edit

Command: DDEDIT

Editing Text Using the Properties Palette

The Properties palette

T E X T E D I T I N G

Modifying the Scale of the Text

Ribbon: Annotate > Text > Scale

Menu Bar: Modify > Object > Text > Scale

Toolbar: Text > Scale

Command: SCALETEXT

Modifying the Justification of the Text

Ribbon: Annotate > Text > Justify

Toolbar: Text > Justify

Menu bar: Modify > Object > Text > Justify

Command: JUSTIFYTEXT


37

Ribbon: Home > Annotation > Table Or Annotate > Tables > Table

Tool Palette: Draw > Table

Menu Bar: Draw > Table

Toolbar: Draw > Table

Command: JUSTIFYTEXT

The Tables panel in the Annotate

tab of the Ribbon

I N S E R T I N G A T A B L E I N T H E D R A W I N G


38

The Insert Table dialog box

I N S E R T I N G A T A B L E I N T H E D R A W I N G


39

The Dimensions panel

The Dimension toolbar

D I M E N S I O N I N G I N A u t o C A D


40

D I M E N S I O N I N G I N A u t o C A D

Leader used to attach annotation

Center mark Centerline

Using alternate units for dimensioning

Notice how the

center mark is

smaller than the

centerline.


41

Drawing linear dimensions

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Linear

Command: DIMLIN or DIMLINEAR

Menu Bar: Dimension > Linear

Toolbar: Dimension > Linear

C R E A T I N G L I N E A R D I M E N S I O N S

Vertical


Horizontal

42

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Aligned

Command: DIMALIGNED

Menu bar: Dimensions > Aligned

Toolbar: Dimension > Aligned

Aligned dimensioning

C R E A T I N G A L I G N E D D I M E N S I O N S


43

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down >

Linear > Arc Length

Command: DIMARC

Menu Bar: Dimension > Arc Length

Toolbar: Dimension > Arc

Arc Length dimensioning Partial Arc Length dimensioning

C R E A T I N G A R C L E N G T H D I M E N S I O N S


44

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Continue drop-down > Baseline

Toolbar: Dimension > Baseline

Menu Bar: Dimension > Baseline

Command: DIMBASE or DIMBASELINE

Baseline dimensioning

C R E A T I N G B A S E L I N E D I M E N S I O N S


45

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Continue drop-down > Continue

Toolbar: Dimension > Continue

Menu Bar: Dimension > Continue

Command: DIMCONT or DIMCONTINUE

Continue dimensioning

C R E A T I N G C O N T I N U E D D I M E N S I O N S


46

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Diameter

Command: DIMDIA

Toolbar: Dimension > Diameter

Menu Bar: Dimension > Diameter

Diameter dimensioning

C R E A T I N G D I A M E T E R D I M E N S I O N S


47

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Radius

Command: DIMRAD

Menu Bar: Dimension > Radius

Toolbar: Dimension > Radius

Radius dimensioning

C R E A T I N G R A D I U S D I M E N S I O N S


48

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Jogged

Command: DIMJOGGED

Menu Bar: Dimension > Jogged

Toolbar: Dimension > Jogged

Jogged dimensioning

C R E A T I N G J O G G E D D I M E N S I O N S


49

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension, Dimjogline

Command: DIMJOGLINE

Menu Bar: Dimension > Jogged Linear

Toolbar: Dimension > Jogged Linear

Jogged linear dimensioning

C R E A T I N G J O G G E D L I N E A R D I M E N S I O N S


50

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Dimension drop-down > Ordinate

Command: DIMORD

Menu Bar: Dimension > Ordinate

Toolbar: Dimension > Ordinate

Ordinate dimensioning

C R E A T I N G O R D I N A T E D I M E N S I O N S


51

Ribbon: Annotate > Dimensions > Adjust Space

Menu Bar: Dimension > Dimension Space

Toolbar: Dimension > Dimension Space

Command: DIMSPACE

Drawing with linear

dimensions unequally spaced Drawing after its linear

dimensions equally spaced

M A I N T A I N I N G E Q U A L S P A C I N G B E T W E E N D I M E N S I O N S


52

Ribbon: Annotate > Leaders > Multileader

Command: MLEADER

Toolbar: Multileader > Multileader

Image displaying the options to locate the

leader start point

D R A W I N G M U L T I L E A D E R S


53

Ribbon: View > Viewports > New

Menu Bar: View > Viewports > New Viewports

Toolbar: Viewports > Display Viewports Dialog or Layouts >

Display Viewports Dialog

Command: VPORTS

M O D E L S P A C E A N D P A P E R S P A C E / L A Y O U T S

Screen display

with multiple

tiled viewports


54

Ribbon: Draw > Hatch

Toolbar: Draw > Hatch

Command: HATCH or H

H A T C H I N G D R A W I N G S U S I N G T H E H A T C H T O O L

Ribbon: Home > Modify > Edit Hatch

Tool Palette: Modify > Edit Hatch

Toolbar: Modify II > Edit Hatch

Command: HATCHEDIT

The Hatch Editor tab with the options for the Gradient pattern

U S I N G T H E H A T C H E D I T C O M M A N D

The Hatch Creation tab


55

X, Y, and Z axes

U N D E R S T A N D I N G X , Y , & Z A X E S

Viewing directions for Front, Side, and Top views

Representing views on paper


56

Source: http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WS1a9193826455f5ff15d97a810d5ab4f18b-7ed0.htm,topicNumber=d0e133712


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